BenL

Thanks kind sir! Shame they don't include the XP to go with them!

Could it be the Ratio kit body on a Parkside chassis? Looks cracking. Do you happen to know where you got the 10' wheel base branding from? I've been struggling to find a source...

Fair enough Robin. I think the post I was recalling is in the following thread and it's not quite as definitive as I was suggesting - Coachman says that the Precision version is 'fine' as LMS bauxite was darker than people sometimes expect: Anyway, as the learned Captain suggests, I'm sure these things varied so don't mind my ramblings.

Very nice Robin. I'm sure there's a post somewhere on RMweb - I think from the esteemed Coachman - suggesting that Presision LMS bauxite is the way to go as it's distinctly brown as LMS bauxite apparently was in real life. After reading that post, that's the route I've gone down and it matches the LMS bauxite Bachmann have applied to their recent LMS bauxite 1 and 3 plank wagons. Not wishing to upset any apple carts, and as I'm sure you already know, the diagonal bracing on these vans was a BR modification. The Ratio kit seems to be the best option for getting these vans in LMS condition, and you can also do the fitted versions using the appropriate Parkside under frame. The Ratio kit covers diagrams that numbered c. 20,000 in real life, so a good few are required :-) Maybe this van you've very shewn would be a good option for your '57 scene?

I'm a long time lurker and admirer of this thread - the scale and precision of this project is breathtaking! Could I ask what the origin is of the rather charming station building you have at St Enodoc station?

Huge thanks Darryl and Aire Head, I had ruled out D1666 as the HMRS had labelled these as 10T wagons when D1666 were 12T (uprated to 13T in the war) but I guess the HMRS labelling is wrong in these instances. Many thanks for clearing that up for me! I guess the same has happened with these two shots and that rather than another mystery 10T wagon, we're actually looking at D1667 12T wagons? https://hmrs.org.uk/photographs/10t-5-plank-lms-10t-6-plank-sr-23424-in-front-of-crewe-works-clock.html https://hmrs.org.uk/photographs/10t-5-plank-lms-322789-ex-works-hurst-nelson-yard-op-r3l.html

I've been doing some research on LMS open wagons with a view to increasing the number represented on my 1947-set GWR layout. In the process, I've come across a couple of shots on the HMRS website of LMS 10T 5 plankers but I can't find any more details about them online or in my limited LMS wagon library. To my inexpert eye, they look like they might be RCH 1923 standard 16' 6'' 10T 5 plank wagons but that's only a pretty uninformed guess. They certainly look different to ex-MR 10T 5 planks I've seen in photos. If anyone has any knowledge of these wagons, I'd be very interested to know if they were merchandise or mineral wagons, if they had an LMS diagram number, whether they were absorbed by or built for the LMS (I notice the photos are from the Charles Roberts collection), how many the LMS had, and how long they lasted in traffic. Here are the links to the photos - any insights anyone can provide will be greatly appreciated! https://hmrs.org.uk/photographs/10t-5-plank-lms-134946.html https://hmrs.org.uk/photographs/10t-5-plank-lms-356761-loaded-accident-salvage-wagon-shows-method-of-securing-load.html Cheers, Ben

If you don't have any luck Robin, you might want to consider getting hold of the LMS and/or NE versions (on sale at Hattons at the mo) - as far as I understand it, the Warwells weren't restricted just to the operating area of the company they were officially loaned to...

I also looked into this and didn't find any photos with the mods that predated '48 so I concluded that they were the work of BR(WR) rather than the GWR. Plus there are a good few shots of WDs without these mods on the GWR in 1947, so that's the option I went for on my '47 condition WD.

I seem to recall some of the following photos were part of the discussion: https://www.flickriver.com/photos/25830408@N08/sets/72157655221369274/

That one's been updated now: https://www.hattons.co.uk/333466/dapol_4s_043_003_class_43xx_mogul_2_6_0_in_gwr_green_with_br_smokebox_numberplate/stockdetail.aspx Looks a very good representation to my eyes overall, but a tad frustrating that the 'G W R' is placed forward of the tender rivets (something I've not seen in a prototype pic, although would be very happy to hear or see otherwise) rather than to the rear (which is what I'm used to seeing in prototype pics).

I humbly think that some kind of brown is the most likely possibility - not wishing to offend any LMS connoisseurs but if Precision Paints are anything to go by, LMS bauxite was pretty brown anyway, so some kind of brown whipped up by the SR might not have been too far off the official LMS goods livery. I certainly don't think the image posted by Rob above shows unpainted wood.

This looks like fantastic progress to me - I'll certainly be keen to order any GWR rotank designs you are able to bring to market.

The info, along with some nice shots, is in GWRJ 51, 'Swindon's '8Fs'' by John Copsey. I think the same info is in one of the appendices at the back of 'The Great Western Eight Coupled Heavy Freight Locomotives' by David Maidment. Unfortunately I'm away from my books/GWRJs so can't check for you at the moment. Good luck finding out!

You can tell your friend that mine is a very strong and delightfully smooth runner. Useful details about which version to go for posted by Glenn at the link below, showing Laira's 77161 based on a nice photo of her in the GWRJ. Don't make the mistake I did and buy a Western Region modified version with the fire iron tunnel and clack valve cover added - quite a bit of research after the purchase suggested that these modifications weren't added by Swindon til '48/49. In '47, most WDs on the GWR still seem to have had the original air pumps fitted, so I ended up buying the Army green version that had these:

I did Robin or rather I very nicely asked a certain @toboldlygo to work his magic on one for me based on a photo - below is the result photographed by the man himself. There's a great 3-part GWR Journal article by John Copsey on the GWR RODs, it's in Vols 90-92, I think it's part 2 or 3 that covers our period (immediate post-war GWR) - there's some great shots in there including the one of 3046 that James worked from. I think they were earmarked for scrapping but then the war broke out and they were kept going, so were in a generally poor state - this makes it hard to see any livery details but I'm pretty confident from looking closely at the photos that they didn't get treated to GWR on the tender. If you are thinking of getting a Bachmann model to work from, the best bet is probably to get the BR black version rather than the GWR green version - the former has a later smokebox door which most seem to have acquired by the end of WW2. It means you need to scrape off the BR smokebox number but it's not too tricky.

Yes, I think the GWR Journal article I mentioned above has all the details of where the Swindon-built 8Fs were allocated from new and until when. There's also a chapter on them in the David Maidment book on GW Heavy Freight Locos, which I seem to recall has an appendix with the allocation details. I'm away from my GWR Journals and books at the moment, but I picked 8427 as the number for my version both because there is a good photo of her in the aforementioned GWR Journal article and because she was the last to leave Laira to 'go back' to the LMS, I think from memory c. Sept/Oct '47. I do have an e-version of the 15th June '47 GWR shed allocations to hand (who doesn't?!) and 8427 is the only 8F allocated to Laira by then (none at NA by that time). They were of course replaced by WDs, something else that would be very fitting on ANTB although I understand Robin feels they are aesthetically challenged

Black, yes, but LMS on the tenders - they were turned out in the standard LMS livery of the time with the exception that they had GWR-style buffer beam numbers and GWR cabside route discs. They were officially only on loan to the GWR. The photos in the GWRJ article mentioned above show that Hornby was right with this depiction of the original livery of the Swindon-built 8Fs (except that the GWR route disc should be blue): https://www.hattons.co.uk/10006/hornby_r2394_class_8f_2_8_0_8453_in_lms_black/stockdetail.aspx

That's interesting. The photos of the Swindon built examples in the GWRJ article mentioned above show the full length pipe - was the shorter pipe a later modification?

Sorry, duplicate post!

Yes, this is the one: https://www.hattons.co.uk/10006/hornby_r2394_class_8f_2_8_0_8453_in_lms_black/stockdetail.aspx If I remember rightly (I'm currently socially distanced from my layout) it has GWR Swindon works plates on the front frame extensions and tender rear. They even added the GWR route disc but sadly it should be blue not yellow!

There's a very interesting GWRJ article on them, with some good shots from our period - issue 51 from 2004. I don't think there were any significant differences on the Swindon built examples, at least not that would show up at the level of fidelity of the Hornby model. I think LMS connoisseurs see some limitations to the Hornby model, but to my GWR blinkered eyes, the model looked enough like an 8F for me to ask Toboldlygo of this parish to renumber one to a Laira example, with weathering based on a photo in the aforementioned GWRJ article. I'm sure he'll share the pics if you ask nicely

Those will be the 8Fs built at Swindon during the war - something that would be a nice addition to ANTB

Thanks Miss Prism. My understanding is that the GWR instructions were to avoid branding going over rivets so Dapol is right to put the GWR off centre to avoid the central vertical rivet line on the tender. But I'm pretty confident all the prototype photos I've seen have the W placed behind the central rivet line rather than in front. This is the clearest photo I can find online at the mo - I appreciate it's an oil burner but I don't think that makes a difference as this is the GWR placement I've generally seen on riveted 3500g tenders: https://www.alamy.com/gwr-loco-garth-hall-1946-image7219546.html

Thanks to everyone who has posted shots from Warley. They're certainly looking good. Just a few queries on the green versions: 1) shouldn't the wheel splasher tops be black? 2) shouldn't the tender tool boxes be green? 3) the postwar 'G W R' branding looks a little undersize and while it's correctly off centre to avoid the vertical rivet lines, I can't recall seeing a prototype photo where it's placed forward of the rivets, it's usually behind as far as I can recall...